Presentation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

10 mai 2017wathinote organisations régionales

Presentation of the ECOWAS

Considered as one of the pillars of the African economic Community, ECOWAS was created to favor the ideal of collective self-sufficiency for its member states. It is also intended to create a unique and important commercial block thanks to the economic cooperation. The vision of ECOWAS is the creation of an integrated region where the population benefits from the free circulation, has access to an education and to effective health systems, devote to economic and commercial activities while living in the dignity in an atmosphere of peace and safety.

Member states

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) consists of fifteen member countries situated in the region of western Africa. These countries have cultural and geopolitical links and share a common economic interest: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.

Governance

The economic Community of the States of western Africa (ECOWAS) consists of three big authorities: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. At the top of the structure is the President of the Conference of the heads of state and the government. The President of the Conference is Serving president appointed by the other heads of state and of government to manage the affairs of the organization for a period of one year. The Secretary’s affairs of ECOWAS in the country of the President of the Conference becomes automatically President of council of Secretaries. And this country chairs all other statutory meetings (ministerial, expert, as the technical committees) of the ECOWAS during the current year.

The Executive of the Community is managed by the President of the Committee of ECOWAS who is appointed by the Conference for a non-renewable period of four years. The Executive is assisted by a Vice-president and by 13 Police Commissioners.

The legislative organ of the Community is the Parliament, which is managed by a President. The administrative offices of the Parliament are managed by the General Secretary. While waiting for the elections in the direct universal suffrage, the members of Parliament are removed from the national Parliaments to the Parliament of the Community for a period of four years.

The judicial organ of the Community is the Court of justice, which is also managed by a President. The judges are removed from the national Supreme Courts to occupy the posts reserved for countries.

Institutions

The Committee

The Committee of ECOWAS is the main engine of all the programs, the projects and the activities of the ECOWAS. This administrative instrument of the ECOWAS was transformed by an executive secretarial department into a Committee in 2007 within the framework of a decision taken for that purpose in Niamey previous year. The Committee allows the ECOWAS to adapt itself better to the international environment and to increase the equity, the transparency and a bigger feature according to the world standards of best practices. In other words, the Committee is better placed to help the Member states of the ECOWAS to strengthen their capacities of implementation of programs.

The Court of justice

The Court of justice of the ECOWAS is the main judicial organ of the Community. This regional institution has for major role to assure the respect for the right and for the principles of equity in the interpretation and the application of the capacities of the revised Treaty as well as the other supplementary legal instruments adopted by the Community. The Court of justice knows disputes with which it is seized by States in the interpretation of the capacities of the revised Treaty. Besides, she can express a consultative opinion on legal questions, when she is seized with it by the Council of Ministers of the ECOWAS. She is also competent to pronounce on the violations of the fundamental principles of human rights.

The Parliament

The Parliament of ECOWAS is the Assembly of the peoples of the Community. Thus his members are the representatives of the set of the peoples of the space ECOWAS grouped in a common organ of transnational legislators. The regional members of Parliament are in charge of promulgating uniform laws and rigorous legislations which allow the creation of a region without borders, peaceful, prosperous and coherent built on the good governance.

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